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Upcoming Expedition
Northwest Passage — May to October
Lunenburg, Nova Scotia → Victoria, British Columbia
Overview
From June through October, Expedition Audacity will undertake a full Arctic transit through the Northwest Passage — sailing from Lunenburg, Nova Scotia, to Victoria, British Columbia, and working with coastal and Indigenous communities across the North Atlantic and Arctic corridor.
This expedition is designed as a multi-month research, documentation, and engagement mission, focused on regions where climate change, cultural continuity, and emerging commercial pressures intersect most sharply.
Rather than a point-to-point voyage, this expedition is structured as a series of regional engagements, allowing time for collaboration, observation, and responsible documentation along the route.
Climate Pressure & Commercial Expansion
Understanding a Rapidly Changing Arctic
The Northwest Passage is not only opening more frequently — it is opening into a fundamentally different operating reality.
Rising temperatures are altering sea ice formation, melt cycles, and seasonal predictability. These changes affect marine mammals, fisheries, coastal stability, and the cultural practices of communities who have relied on consistent environmental rhythms for generations.
At the same time, increased accessibility is accelerating commercial interest in Arctic routes.
Expanded shipping, freight traffic, and potential tanker passage introduce new stressors into systems that evolved without sustained industrial disturbance, including:
- increased underwater noise affecting marine mammal communication and migration
- elevated risk of fuel spills in cold, remote environments with limited response capacity
- disruption to subsistence activities and culturally significant marine areas
- cumulative impacts that are rarely measured holistically
Environmental change and commercial expansion do not occur independently. Their combined effects shape ecosystems, community wellbeing, and long-term stewardship decisions.
This expedition is designed to observe those intersections directly.
Northwest Passage — At a Glance
Climate & Commercial Stressors
The Arctic is changing faster than monitoring systems can adapt.
This expedition focuses on where pressures overlap — not in isolation.
Climate-Driven Stressors
- Rising sea temperatures and altered ice formation
- Shorter, less predictable freeze–thaw cycles
- Shifts in marine mammal migration and habitat use
- Increased coastal erosion and ecosystem instability
Commercial & Industrial Pressures
- More frequent seasonal opening of the Northwest Passage
- Increased freight and potential tanker traffic
- Elevated underwater noise in sensitive marine habitats
- Higher spill risk in remote regions with limited response capacity
Why It Matters
Climate change and commercial expansion interact — compounding impacts on ecosystems, wildlife, and the communities who depend on them.
This expedition documents those interactions before they become irreversible defaults.
Atlantic & Sub-Arctic Entry
The expedition begins on Canada’s Atlantic coast, with planned stops and nearshore work in:
- Newfoundland
- Labrador
These regions serve as both an ecological threshold and a cultural gateway into the Arctic. Work here focuses on changing coastal conditions, marine species movement, and the lived experience of communities already navigating warming waters and shifting fisheries.
Greenland & Arctic Crossings
As the vessel moves northward, the expedition enters Greenlandic and high-latitude waters where climate signals are pronounced and accelerating.
This phase supports:
- observation of ice conditions and seasonal variability
- documentation of marine mammal presence and movement
- contextual understanding of how warming affects navigation, safety, and traditional practices
Hudson Bay & Churchill, Manitoba
A central focus of the expedition is Hudson Bay, with dedicated engagement around Churchill, Manitoba.
Here, Expedition Audacity will work alongside an Indigenous-led group focused on cultural preservation and the protection of local beluga pods, at a time when Canada is evaluating expanded freight and tanker traffic through the Port of Churchill.
This work brings together:
- community-led cultural documentation
- observation of beluga habitat use and seasonal behaviour
- examination of cumulative stressors related to warming waters, noise, and vessel traffic
Churchill represents a critical convergence point — where environmental change, economic interest, and cultural continuity meet.
Baffin Island & Arctic Communities
The expedition continues around Baffin Island, engaging with as many communities as conditions, consent, and timing allow.
These engagements are guided by local priorities and may include:
- shared observation of environmental change
- documentation of community experience and stewardship practices
- support for youth, knowledge-keeping, and intergenerational learning
No engagements are extractive. Participation is invitation-based, collaborative, and shaped by each community’s context.
What We Are Studying Along the Route
Cumulative Stressors, Not Isolated Events
Rather than isolating single variables, Expedition Audacity’s Northwest Passage work examines how multiple environmental, social, and economic pressures interact over time — and how those interactions shape both ecosystems and lived experience.
This integrated approach includes:
- Documenting how warming waters and changing ice conditions influence marine species distribution, seasonal movement, and habitat stability
- Observing changes in beluga habitat use and behaviour in regions facing increased vessel traffic, underwater noise, and shoreline activity
- Supporting community-led monitoring of environmental, cultural, and subsistence indicators that are often absent from formal datasets
- Recording lived experience where climate change, economic pressure, and external development intersect — particularly in regions navigating new commercial interest
By working across these layers, the expedition captures patterns that would be invisible through short-term or single-discipline studies.
Our approach recognises that ecological stress is rarely the result of one cause.
Responsible decision-making depends on understanding systems over time — not snapshots taken in isolation.
Why This Matters for the Future of the Arctic
As the Northwest Passage becomes more navigable, decisions made now will set precedents that are difficult to reverse.
Scientific data alone is not sufficient. Community knowledge alone is not sufficient.
What is required is careful integration — evidence gathered alongside lived experience, over time, and with consent.
This expedition contributes to that foundation.
Not by predicting outcomes — but by ensuring that change is documented accurately, responsibly, and early enough to matter.
This is not a speculative journey, nor a symbolic transit.
It is a planned, working expedition designed to:
- support Indigenous-led stewardship and cultural continuity
- document environmental change where oversight is limited
- contribute credible, contextual evidence to future decisions
- strengthen long-term relationships rather than short-term presence
The Northwest Passage expedition reflects how Expedition Audacity operates everywhere: with preparation, humility, and responsibility.